Today's Opinions

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” so the saying goes, and I might add, “It lasts forever when it’s on the Internet.” I have no idea if Rielle Hunter or the eighth grade girl whose boyfriend allegedly sold the nude pictures of herself she sexted (sending sexually explicit messages or photos by mobile phones) him, thought about the implications of what they were doing when they posed, Reille before a professional photographer, the girl before her own cell phone.

I’m guilty of a grievous breech of southern etiquette. I fail to wave back to people when driving down the road.

If you’ve ever waved to me when you’ve seen me driving, then please don’t take offense if I didn‘t wave back. I never see anything except those white and yellow lines while driving down the road. I never look into other people’s cars while driving. I didn’t even know that people were waving to me until my kids mentioned it one day.

Neither of my high school friends let me in on their secret: they planned to commit suicide. They succeeded.

Not at the same time. And by then we were miles and years apart. But it still shook me to the core when I heard the news. “Death by suicide.” My friends, they were, at least for some fun years. Football. Friday night school dances. Parties. Cruising. Hanging out.

We are now halfway through the 2010 General Assembly Session and while the House of Representatives continues to labor, as constitutionally required, on a budget proposal, the Senate’s work, while on a smaller scale, is no less important. Both House and Senate Appropriations and Revenue chairmen are in close consultation so that when the House budget proposal is finalized and moves to the Senate, we can hit the ground running.